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From halftime show to teacher morale: 7 questions with JPS' new superintendent Errick Greene

Jackson Public Schools new superintendent Errick Greene had to show some moxie in his first week on the job.

The week started with the district’s teacher union voicing concerns about schedule changes that occurred prior to Greene’s arrival and ended with a firestorm caused by a halftime performance in Brookhaven. During the act, members of the Forest Hill High School Band depicted guns being held on police. The show, which occurred within a week of two Brookhaven police officers being killed in the line of duty, has garnered criticism from Gov. Phil Bryant and lawmakers.

Greene spoke with the Clarion Ledger about the incident and the other ways he hopes to move the district forward.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell us about what attracted you to Jackson Public Schools?

I’m a career-long educator. I was a teacher and principal. I worked in school administration supervising principals. I’ve done this work for a long time. I’ve come to understand where my heart is (and that’s) supporting students who are often discounted. When I started to learn more about Jackson and some of the challenges here with student achievement and funding, I also heard a bit about the opportunities and partnerships and the commitment from the broader community to support Jackson students. All of that was very enticing to me.

You’ve already had to respond to one fire. Give us an update on where things stand.

I cannot apologize enough. We cannot apologize enough for this horrible faux pas, misstep on our part. It was definitely insensitive. It was a terrible lapse in judgment on our part. We are continuing our investigation.

I’m expecting pretty quickly some findings from our team as to the policies, practices that were not followed in this case.

I’ve been asked about their (students') participation in future activities. We certainly don’t want to punish young people, as we think about the ways that we as adults have failed them. While I can’t share right now what those (personnel) actions will be, we’re definitely wrapping that up and preparing for next steps.

I do want to stress that I understand there are several folks who are really upset and appalled by our actions. Even as we’re apologizing for that, I want to stress the need for all of us to treat the young people with respect. Even in this time when they were acting out something the adults allowed and approved and sanctioned, we want to make sure our young people are not targeted.

JPS has more than 20 accreditation standards to clear. Do you feel brought up to speed on the district's challenges? Are there certain areas you're still working to learn about?

What’s clear to me is we still have quite a bit of work to do around the corrective action plan. I feel really confident in what I’ve seen thus far and the way we’ve been working internally on clearing those standards.

The MDE (Mississippi Department of Education) made it clear that the accountability system is an all or nothing system. If all schools are expected to do A, B and C, then all schools have to be doing A, B and C. Not A and B—not all schools but one. I am continuing to learn the ins and outs of the various standards and even where we’re still vulnerable.

What are your priorities? Note: The Clarion Ledger broke this out into a list format.

Ensuring that we have a shared vision for education in Jackson — one that everyone can buy into and see that makes sense, that’s good and right for students.

District organization. How are we organized to do the work?

Lastly what will remain a priority is getting square with MDE, clearing those standards. That will give some connection back to the broader vision for the district.

Your last district in Tulsa experienced a teacher strike. What did you learn from your time in Oklahoma about how important it is to foster a climate of respect for teachers?

Frankly, my entire career this has always been an area for improvement. There’s always an issue whether it’s teacher pay or conditions of the buildings or student behaviors. There’s always something, whether it’s teachers or another group that they’re concerned about. By all means, now that I'm sitting in the superintendent’s seat, I’ve got to continue to demonstrate that I’m listening, and that I’m in partnership with all of those groups.

The real magic around student achievement and development happens in the classroom. It doesn’t happen in the principal’s office. It’s really important that we have strong leaders. The real magic happens in the classroom. It always has. It always will. To the extent that we can make sure our teachers have the tools that they need — that they have the conditions they need and a shared vision and direction for how we’re engaging students, we all win when that’s in place. When it’s not, we all have an issue. I’m in a position where I can create time and space to engage with our teachers respectfully. I pledge to do that.

How do you want to approach community engagement with families?

As we firm up priorities...we’ll need to pull them in very closely and consistently over time. They’re our primary customers. We’ve got to make sure our parents fully understand where we are and where we’re going. So they can understand why the homework looks different. We need to do that work with them directly.

Think ahead to a year. What does success look like? What's the measuring stick we should use to hold you accountable?

We should be doing a ton of foundational work. There should be a clear set of priorities we’re working toward. We should have a very clear and detailed implementational plan in place. We should have cleared quite a number of the standards that need to be cleared with MDE. Folks should be able to say with great confidence that they have the level of communications with our team around our plans and feel a level of buy-in they haven’t felt previously.